Amidst an ongoing child abuse case in Freiburg where the child’s mother admitted to allowing pedophiles from the darknet to meet and rape her nine-year-old son, officials started looking at the role (or lack thereof) played by the youth welfare office in Germany. The boy’s motherâwho recently admitted communicating with pedophiles in darknet chat rooms for the sole purpose of forcibly prostituting her sonâhad been allowing her 39-year-old partner to live with her. The man had prior sex crime convictions and was prohibited from living with the woman and being near her child.

Despite his illegal presence at the house of the boy’s mother, Berrin T, 48, the welfare office allegedly ignored the threat and then continued to ignore reports and warnings from the boy’s school teachers, friends, and even the school headmaster. The man who had been staying at the house often participated in the abuse. On several occasions, as witnessed by the prosecution in a closed courtroom, Christian L, 39, filmed the abuse while the boy’s mother witnessed.

In several recorded instances, Christian L. received money from the pedophiles. In one instance, a pedophile met on Tabooless Chat gave Christian L. 100 euros for access to the child. The same pedophile gave the boy’s mother 75 euros. And, as if the boy had willingly participated in the abuse, the pedophile gave the boy 50 euros. This pedophile, one of eight defendants in the abuse case, has already received a prison sentence of between 8-10 years. He has appealed the sentence.

In the videos seen by the pedophiles, the court, and undercover investigators, the child abuse was brutal. Pedophiles from both inside and outside of Germany arrived at the arranged meeting spots with handcuffs, rope, and other restraints. The abuse frequently left noticeable marks and bruises on the boy’s skin. The marks and bruises stood out to the people in the boy’s life who cared for children’s well-being.

Unfortunately for the boy’s sake and safety, the youth welfare office seemingly cared very little or rarely listened to the complaints and warnings. If nothing else, prosecutors said, the government office demonstrated a gross negligence beyond what the defendantsâ restitutions will ever fix.

Some have asked why the boy had not come forward with his own complaints. The prosecutors responded that the reason could be seen in the videos themselves: pure humiliation. Not only was the boy physically harmed and emotionally scarred, he was led to believe that everyone he knew would see the videos if he ever spoke about what his mother and âstepfatherâ had forced him to endure.

The case is ongoing and many of the suspects already received lengthy prison sentences. But, instead of only eight defendants, the prosecutors have started an investigation into the lack of aid provided by the youth welfare office; they could have removed the boy from a situation that could have led to the boy’s death. Instead, prosecutors claim, the office ignored all warning signs and enabled the systematic abuse of a nine-year-old boy.